1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of three-dimensional printing.
2. Background of the Related Art
Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a process of making a three-dimensional object from a digital model using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down over previous layers. The material may be a thermoplastic polymer filament that is heated and extruded through a narrow nozzle. Either the nozzle is moved or a table supporting the material is moved to control where the material is deposited.
3D printing is becoming a big industry with a growing number of printer manufacturers and web sites that provide construction plans for downloading to a computer. Unfortunately, 3D printing is much more complex than 2D printing are requires much more time to product an object. Objects that are printed at a fine level of detail and are not tiny can take many hours to complete. Ideally, a 3D print job is not started unless there is enough time and materials to complete the job. However, work schedules, power outages, material shortages and the like may prevent a 3D print job from proceeding straight through from start to finish.
Some printers allow you to pause printing and resume, as long as you leave the printer on and don't move the object that is a work-in-progress. Accidentally moving the incomplete object relative to the table will cause the rest of the print job to be misaligned with the initial part of the object. However, a 3D print job may need to be paused in order to change or replace a plastic filament that is used to make the object or to simply stop and complete the job at a later time.